XVI Corps (United Kingdom)
Encyclopedia
The British XVI Corps was a British infantry corps during World War I
.
. Milne was starved of resources by Sir William Robertson who considered all operations outside the Western Front
to be "side shows". The Corps Headquarters were at Kirechkoi to the east of Thessaloniki from January 1916 until the advance to the Struma in September 1916. From May 1916 it was one of two divisions within the British Salonika Army
. The campaign developed into a battle for position with trenches and emplacements from which the General Officer Commanding (Lieutenant-General Charles Briggs
) undertook limited actions to capture Bulgaria
n and Turkish
positions in a river valley that was infested with mosquito
s. British operations in the Balkans Campaign
were costly: the allies lost over 7,000 troops at the Battle of Doiran
in September 1918 alone.
British XVI Corps
. The formation insignia was a phoenix arising from red flames and bearing a flaming torch in its mouth, on a white ground.
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.
History
British XVI Corps was formed in Salonika in January 1916 under Lieutenant General George MilneGeorge Milne, 1st Baron Milne
Field Marshal George Francis Milne, 1st Baron Milne, GCB, GCMG, DSO , was a British military commander who served as Chief of the Imperial General Staff from 1926 to 1933.-Army career:...
. Milne was starved of resources by Sir William Robertson who considered all operations outside the Western Front
Western Front
Western Front was a term used during the First and Second World Wars to describe the contested armed frontier between lands controlled by Germany to the east and the Allies to the west...
to be "side shows". The Corps Headquarters were at Kirechkoi to the east of Thessaloniki from January 1916 until the advance to the Struma in September 1916. From May 1916 it was one of two divisions within the British Salonika Army
British Salonika Army
The British Salonika Army was a British field army of the British Army during World War I.-First World War:The Army was formed in Salonika in May 1916 under Lieutenant General George Milne to oppose Bulgarian advances in the region as part of the Macedonian front...
. The campaign developed into a battle for position with trenches and emplacements from which the General Officer Commanding (Lieutenant-General Charles Briggs
Charles James Briggs
Lieutenant-General Sir Charles James Briggs KCB KCMG was a British Army officer who held high command in World War I.-Military career:...
) undertook limited actions to capture Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
n and Turkish
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
positions in a river valley that was infested with mosquito
Mosquito
Mosquitoes are members of a family of nematocerid flies: the Culicidae . The word Mosquito is from the Spanish and Portuguese for little fly...
s. British operations in the Balkans Campaign
Balkans Campaign (World War I)
The Balkans Campaign of World War I was fought between Central Powers Bulgaria, Austria-Hungary, and Germany on one side and the Allies Serbia, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, Montenegro on the other side.-Overview:The prime cause of World War I being the hostility between Serbia and...
were costly: the allies lost over 7,000 troops at the Battle of Doiran
Battle of Doiran
The third Battle of Doiran was fought from 18 September to 19 September 1918, with the Greeks and the British assaulting the positions of the Bulgarian First Army near Dojran Lake. The battle was part of World War I and took place in the Balkan Theatre...
in September 1918 alone.
Component units
Component units included:British XVI Corps
- 10th (Irish) Division
- British 27th DivisionBritish 27th DivisionThe British 27th Division was a First World War regular army infantry division formed in late 1914 by combining various units that had been acting as garrisons about the British Empire. The division spent most of 1915 on the Western Front in France before moving to Salonika where it remained with...
- British 28th Division
- 1/1st Surrey YeomanrySurrey YeomanryThe Surrey Yeomanry was a unit of the British Army formed as volunteer cavalry in 1794 during the French Revolutionary Wars. In 1901 the Regiment was granted the title Princess of Wales's which was changed to Queen Mary's when George V became the King...
World War II
In World War II the British XVI Corps was notionally reformed as part of the British Twelfth Army, a fictitious formation created under Operation CascadeOperation Cascade
Operation Cascade was the codename for an Allied deception operation during World War II for the Middle East and North Africa. Operation Cascade was one of the first successful Allied deception operations in World War II, and provided valuable experience for later operations.-Background:In 1942,...
. The formation insignia was a phoenix arising from red flames and bearing a flaming torch in its mouth, on a white ground.
Subordinate units
As initially created, the corps contained the following divisions in addition to the usual supporting troops:- British 8th Armored Division (fictional)
- British 15th Motorized Division (fictional)
- British 34th Infantry Division (fictional)
General Officers Commanding
Commanders included:- January 1916 - May 1916 Lieutenant-General George MilneGeorge Milne, 1st Baron MilneField Marshal George Francis Milne, 1st Baron Milne, GCB, GCMG, DSO , was a British military commander who served as Chief of the Imperial General Staff from 1926 to 1933.-Army career:...
- May 1916 - November 1918 Lieutenant-General Charles BriggsCharles James BriggsLieutenant-General Sir Charles James Briggs KCB KCMG was a British Army officer who held high command in World War I.-Military career:...